BABYLON’S ASHES by James S.A. Corey (The Expanse #6)

In Babylon’s Ashes, the sixth novel in James S.A. Corey’s The Expanse saga, we are treated to a reunited crew of the Rocinante who spent much of their time apart in the previous novel in, Nemesis Games. With the literally Earth shattering events of that previous novel behind them, humanity with Chrisjen Avasarala as the de-facto leader of Earth, humanity must regroup and leading that charge is Captain James Holden and his crew, including Naomi Nagata, Amos Burton, Alex Kamal, Clarissa Mao, and now Bobbie Draper.

The Free Navy – a violent group of Belters in black-market military ships – has crippled the Earth and begun a campaign of piracy and violence among the outer planets. The colony ships heading for the thousand new worlds on the far side of the alien ring gates are easy prey, and no single navy remains strong enough to protect them.

James Holden and his crew know the strengths and weaknesses of this new force better than anyone. Outnumbered and outgunned, the embattled remnants of the old political powers call on the Rocinante for a desperate mission to reach Medina Station at the heart of the gate network.

But the new alliances are as flawed as the old, and the struggle for power has only just begun. As the chaos grows, an alien mystery deepens. Pirate fleets, mutiny, and betrayal may be the least of the Rocinante’s problems. And in the uncanny spaces past the ring gates, the choices of a few damaged and desperate people may determine the fate of more than just humanity.

In Babylon’s Ashes, things change a bit from a structural standpoint. In previous volumes, each chapter was primarily focused through the point of view of a more limited cast of characters with 4-6 characters comprising the points of view (i.e. Holden’s point of view being one chapter, Avasarala being another chapter, etc.). Here, we see 17 total characters whose point of view provides insight into the conflict in the future of our Solar System. Holden finds himself at the center again, using his notoriety to bring the solar system together; Avasarala pushing to fight back against the “Free Navy,” and Fred still hated by many people with perhaps the overall standout Michio Pa, a character central in much of the conflict over the past couple of novels.

It seems every book in The Expanse can function as setting a new status quo and the fifth book truly sets a foundation for the future of humanity. Here in book six, the Corey boys seem to be plotting that course quite well. Despite having discovered a gate that allows access to another galaxy in past books, that element of the universe of these books is mostly referenced and doesn’t come into play until the closing of the novel. That could have been the easy, quick fix story, but since there is a much longer game being played in these games, Abraham/Franck much more smartly deal with the immediate issues within our Solar System, namely the conflict between the OPA and the pirates … rather the Free Navy being led by Marco Inaros. The triumvirate of Holden, Fred Johnson and Avasarala are attempting to reestablish peace and unity in the solar system, but it isn’t without pain, struggle, and frustration.

There’s a lot of emotional development; through the eyes of Filip (Naomi and Marco’s son), we see a great deal of hate; through Holden, we see a great deal of hope; through with Marco there’s a degree of hate and envy. Other characters exhibit fear and trepidation. As always, Amos is a steady rock of stability. Some of the strongest scenes involved Fred Johnson and James Holden; I found myself laughing out loud during many of their conversations and smiling as I always do with every thought and word from Avasarala.

Six books into the series and each novel feels fresh without repetitive retreads that can potentially plague long genre series. Equally as impressive at the least, and possibly more impressive as a tangent to that quality is the ability of the series to still surprise. As events unfold over the course of the novel and series, a sense of comfort sets in, the setting become familiar and the characters feel like old, beloved friends. Upsetting that sense of comfort is a skill that must be balanced with care and precision which is exactly how Corey manages to offset that level of comfort that comes across as a natural flow of the story rather than a bomb dropped in just for shock value.

For the past few years, the release of an Expanse novel has been an Event in my reading calendar, one I anticipate until the book releases. Babylon’s Ashes has easily lived up to the previous novels in the series for my pure reading enjoyment and the smart storytelling on display and continues the trend of previous novels as a top SF novel for the year.

Highly recommended – both this novel and the series as a whole.